The present invention relates to skin injury treatments and, more particularly, to a film-like composition for treating skin injuries such as burns. Injuries can be caused by heat in any of its forms, such as cold, electric current and the chemical products, which are all encompassed under the common name of burns. In order to treat these injuries, it has been necessary to make up a new topical composition which could cover by itself all of the therapeutic aspects, since to date there is no medicine with all of these characteristics.
In attempting to improve upon the presently available products for the treatment of burns, we have found some topical medicaments contain antibiotics and the use of same has greatly modified the treatment of burns, shortening the cicatrization time upon the elimination of infections. However, it is necessary to use another type of medicine to control pain, as well as to stop the loss of electrolytes when the injuries are very large. The vehicle generally used is based on a grease, which might produce maceration of the tissues and frustrate cicatrization. Besides, it is necessary to use some means to secure the grease, such as bandages to maintain the medicine in its place, which makes difficult the supervision of the healing of the injury, in addition to having to change these bandages each time.
Another type of medicine presently used for the treatment of these injuries has adequate debridement effect. However, this medicine also needs means to secure same which involves the above mentioned problems and the control of pain and infection must be handled with other additional medicines.
Other medicaments have also been used to coagulate the protein of the injured site to control the loss of water and electrolytes. These medicaments only have this function, so they are incomplete by themselves for the treatment of burns. The same drawbacks are associated with medicines prepared based on oils and vitamins.
The use of biological membranes as amniotic membrane, is restricted to big hospitals, due to deriving same from the placenta immediately after the expulsion at childbirth and at the same time to have at the operating room the patient who will be treated with same. In addition to the securing means which are also necessary, infections must be prevented with antibiotics, pain with analgesics and if there is no adequate compression, there might be produced an exudate deposit which separates the membrane and frustrates treatment.
There are other membranes different from those derived from the placenta which have been used in these treatments with the same problems as mentioned above; some membranes are lyophilized and others require refrigeration, so that they are not readily available outside of a hospital and their cost is very high.
Another treatment for this type of injuries, when same are very large, is grafting, with the limitation that the wound must be clean. That is the injury must be, without infection and sufficiently debrided so that the grafting may be secured.
Finally, there has been found that a constant pressure on the site of cicatrization produces excellent results, preventing cheloid scars or deforming flanges. This pressure may not be started until the wound has completely cicatrized.